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The Holy Trinity of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra embarked on their nine-day-long annual sojourn amid a sea of devotees that pulled the three gigantic chariots toward Gundicha temple during the Ratha Yatra in Puri on Tuesday.
On this auspicious occasion, Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court S Muralidhar, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reached the Pilgrim Town to pay obeisance to the deities and seek blessings.
After witnessing ‘Pahandi’ rituals of the deities, Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal extended his good wishes to countless devotees of Lord Jagannath across the globe. He prayed before the Lord that Rath Yatra establishes peace, friendship, and love in the society.
Along with the Governor, Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, S Muralidhar also had darshan of the deities on the Grand Road and prayed for the well-being of the people of Odisha.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reached Puri on a special chopper. After having the darshan of the deities, he sought blessings. Patnaik also touched the rope of Lord Jagannath’s chariot Nandighosha and paid his obeisance to the Lord.
Union Ministers Pradhan and Vaishnaw also witnessed the ‘Pahandi’ rituals of the deities.
“We are very fortunate to get the opportunity of witnessing the magnificent ‘Pahandi’ rituals of the deities during Rath Yatra in Puri. I prayed before the Lord to enhance the glory of India and let Odisha take a leadership role in it,” said Pradhan.
Among others, many senior leaders of the State Cabinet and OPCC President, Sarat Pattanayak also took part in Rath Yatra and sought blessings from the Holy Trinity.
“Lord Jagannath’s blessing is always with Odisha. He is the Lord of the Universe. His watchful eyes are always on the people across the globe,” said Odisha Commerce and Transport Minister, Tukuni Sahu.
“People from all parts of the globe have come to Puri to have darshan of the Trinity. Lakhs of people have braved the scorching heat to offer their prayers to the deities. We are fortunate to visit Puri and seek blessings of the Lord,” said Sarat Pattanayak.
Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been made for lakhs of devotees in Puri. Around 190 platoons of security force have been deployed to prevent any kind of untoward incidents during the nine-day-long festival. More than 50 CCTV cameras have been installed at various important locations in the town to keep a vigil on the devotees and monitor traffic arrangements. Moreover, information centers have been opened at 11 places across the town to disseminate useful information for the convenience of visitors.
“Devotees thronged Puri in large numbers which was more than our expectations. Extra security forces have been deployed at 10 critical points in the town. Central forces have been deployed as well. More than 200 fire services personnel have been deployed to prevent any accidents,” said Puri SP, Kanwar Vishal Singh.
“Security forces under the leadership of senior officials have been deployed on both sides of the Grand Road. The whole town has been divided into 14 zones and 29 sectors. Senior zonal and sectoral officers have been appointed there,” said Transport Commissioner, Amitabh Thakur.
